Although the cold-resistant ability of mangroves varies greatly with species, the physiological mechanism remains unclear. The chilling stress effects on morphological changes, photosynthetic pigments, reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA) and several antioxidants, were studied in leaves of three mangrove seedlings (Kandelia obovata, Aegiceras corniculatum and Avicennia marina). Results showed that both K. obovata and A. corniculatum exhibited lighter chilling damage, lower chilling injury rates and higher survival rates compared to A. marina. Reductions of chlorophylls (Chls) were observed in all the three mangroves, and the highest was detected in A. marina. Significant increases in content of ROS (hydrogen peroxide, H2O2; hydroxyl radicals, OH⋅) and MDA were observed in both A. marina and A. corniculatum, whereas chilling stressed K. obovata showed a decrease in H2O2 content, constant OH⋅ level and instantaneous increase of MDA. The contents of proline and water-soluble protein exhibited similar stress-time dependent increases in all mangroves, while A. corniculatum showed the highest increase of proline and relatively higher increase of water-soluble protein. The catalase activities significantly decreased with stress time in all mangroves, while K. obovata showed the least reduction. An increase in ascorbic acid (AsA) content and activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were also detected in all the three mangroves, while K. obovata showed the highest increases. These results indicate that chilling-tolerance of mangroves is associated with the efficiency of antioxidants, as confirmed by principal component analysis. The AsA, APX and POD in K. obovata may play more important role in control of oxidative stresses than those in the other two species. Furthermore, the higher cold-resistance of A. corniculatum compared to A. marina may be partly associated with its higher proline accumulation. The results indicate that enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants (POD, APX, AsA, proline and Car) play key roles in scavenging of excess ROS in mangroves. Further studies focusing on these stress-responsive genes will enable better understanding of the cold-resistance mechanism from molecular level.